Excerpt from Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Commencing on Tuesday, the Sixth Day of December, in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-Six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twenty-First A perfect view of the interefls ofpennfylvanialeading 413, 'naturally, to contemplate her relative fituation, as amember of the union, it'will not, Gentlemen, be deemed obtrufive, or improper, at'this important Beta, to clofe my communications, with a reference to the general tranquility, order, and profperity, of the filterfiates. Our country had fcarcely recruited the firength exhaufied in her ievolutionary contef't, and fcarcely furmounted the embar raflinents produced by her hri'c feeble confederation, when the fudden and irrefiflible explohon, which fiill fhakes the political atmofphere of Europe, urged to a fevere and painful tefi, the paffions of her citizens, and the ener gies of her government. The love of liberty, and the fenfe of obligation; created in the Arnericanvmind, an honorable predilection for the caufe of the French people; but the duties, and the interel'ts, of a neutral character, im pofed uptm our government, the adoption of a fyfiem, by which none of the belligerent powexsmight have reafon to complain of the violation of our faith, and all would be compelled to acknowledge the reeiitude of our impartiality. The fame fkilful and patriotic hand that had led us, triumphantly, through the gloom and fconflifi of a feyen years' war, was again employed, at that arduous period, in pointing out the path of juf'tice, honor, and peace: And the cfl'cfis of the aufp'cious courfe, that has been purfued, are vifible through out the land. Notwithflanding the inconveniences and outrages, to which our commerce has been unhappily expofed, the cities and towns of the union have fiourilhed in arts and opulence; the face of the country has been uni verfallyimproved and beautified; and all the flaple products of the American foil, have been cultivated and matured beyond the molt fanguine anticipation.(19) About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.